As academics and innovators we should be continually looking to future proof our practice and understand the growing digital needs of our students.

The BBC has just published an interesting article which looks into the changing trends in social media usage by children.  The article is focussed around the drop in Facebook usage; however the findings can be tangibly translated into social media trends of current and future students in HE.   Ofcom have realised details from a report that demonstrates the changing trends in social media usage and the increased usage of video services of which 89% of children in the study regularly watch streaming site You Tube.

You can see from the table below that since 2011 the amount of children using Facebook has dropped year on year while there is a clear upward trend in the usage of both Instagram and SnapChat.

Academic studies in this area have proven that factors in this changing landscape can be partly contributed to the way children chose to digest information, the need for instant access to information as well the ‘Facebook generation’ who are now becoming parents of the next generation of digital natives.

So, why not consider ways in which you could incorporate social media into your teaching practice?

Full article here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47028994